


The best way (to an advisor's heart)

by wildcursive



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Advisorversary, And Lots of It, Fluff, Food, Ignoct Week, M/M, Noctis cooks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 12:30:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11669163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildcursive/pseuds/wildcursive
Summary: Ignis is prepared for an ordinary day of assisting the Prince with his obligations and cooking dinner yet again. He's not ready for a surprise celebration of an anniversary he didn't even know about.Written for Ignoct week 2017





	The best way (to an advisor's heart)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is my first Ignoct fic and I'm really nervous, because I'm one of those people who don't own a PS4, but watched playthroughs upon playthroughs and decided to write fic just based on that. This is also my first time participating in an event like this, hope I didn't screw up. This work isn't betaread and due to laptop troubles I'm posting from my tablet, so please forgive the probably many mistakes, they are all mine.
> 
> Written for Ignoct Week 2017 Day 2: Simple: Noctis cooks

It’s a warm late afternoon at the beginning of spring and the end of Noctis’ first year of university when Ignis lets himself into the Prince’s apartment. Or rather, tries to. The door seems to be locked with the key left inside – something that hasn’t happened in all of Ignis’ years in his service. It’s going to be fifteen this year, he thinks with fondness and exasperation, leaning in to knock several times on the door.

“Noct?” 

There is no answer for a moment and his exasperation turns to alarm. Then, after a few seconds, he hears a muted clanking of metal and steps coming closer. 

“Iggy, that you?” Noctis finally answers.

“Yes, Noct, is everything okay?” 

“Yeah, everything is good.” A small pause. “I’m good. Can you come back a bit later? Like, in two hours?”

This is extremely unusual, Ignis thinks. Normally at this time of day the Prince is napping or, more rarely, sprawled out on the couch with Prompto, a newly released video game they likely rushed to get after class on the screen in front of them. And though Noctis doesn’t protest when Ignis comes to rouse him or remind him about coursework and crown-related duties, him being this active and secretive is unprecedented. 

“If you are certain, but we still need to go over some reports the King suggested for you and the history project you asked my help with.”

“Sure, sure. In two hours, though,” comes the impatient answer.

“Alright,” he concedes and turns to go back to the elevator. During Noct’s high school years leaving just to come back a bit later would mean at least a half-hour drive in both directions, but when Noctis started university it was suggested that Ignis move closer for convenience. This is how he finds himself a year later, with coming and going meaning making his way up and down two floors. 

He busies himself with a couple of his own household chores and a short report he was planning on doing at Noctis’ apartment after dinner. Seeing how he will have to start preparing tonight’s meal later than usual, he decides starting now will actually give him enough time to do it. 

About an hour and forty-five minutes later (Ignis will deny he is curious about this unprecedented turn of events and was regularly checking the time in front of anyone but himself), an impatiently sounding knock at the door rouses him from his seat. It’s not a surprise to find Noctis on the other side of it, unsuccessfully trying to hide how jittery he is. 

“Yo, Specs, come on!”

There’s excitement in his voice and a spark in his eyes that prove intriguing enough that Ignis only turns away for a second to reach for his keys and lock the door before following Noctis to his apartment at the same brisk pace he’s walking in. The report’s left lying unfinished on the couch. He’ll have time for it before bed, he reasons. 

The first thing that hits him, when they walk through Noctis’ front door, is the smell. Noctis must have ordered take out, because the whole house smells wonderfully of cooked food. Next, he notices the living room seems much more ordered than it normally is. It’s not spotless, but the usual strewn around clothes seem absent and all of Noctis’ school things and books are stacked on a near bookshelf. Even the video game discs can’t be seen lying around out of their cases, all of them ordered neatly under the TV with much more apparent care than anything else around the room. Noctis himself also seems more put together, in a casual, but smart-looking dark blue shirt and black trousers.

Finally, his eyes land on the small dining table placed close to the open kitchen space. It’s set with plates and cutlery for two. Ignis didn’t even know Noctis had such a nice tablecloth. 

“Noct, what’s happened, should I be worried.”

A small laugh.

“No, Specs, everything is fine. Sit down and I’ll get the food out.”

“Is there an occasion for this? There was nothing in the calendar.” Ignis is starting to feel a little frantic himself. Has he fallen behind in his duties and missed something? 

“Geez, Specs. Relax for a second, I told you everything was fine. Sit down.”

He does so, reluctantly, and waits until Noctis comes out, carrying plates and a pot, and bowls. They hold pieces of grilled fish and cooked rice. There’s even a salad. 

He sits down when it looks like he’s brought everything.

“Noct, did you cook all of this this yourself?” he asks, incredulous.

Noctis can’t seem to get his hands to stay still, bending one with the other and squeezing. 

“I- yeah- Prompto helped me find some recipes online. I remembered you like grilled fish and I know this isn’t even close to your cooking, but I- maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all,” he sighs, looking away. 

“Noct,” Ignis says in what he hopes is his calmest, most supportive and sincere advisor tone. “It looks wonderful, but you still haven’t told me what the occasion is.”

“Oh, I- This year is the fifteenth since we met- since you were assigned to me, right. So I… asked dad if he had any records of when exactly that happened. I barely remember anything from then, but I remembered it was in the spring, because the first days we were playing together I was miserable – it was too cold and they wouldn’t let me play outside with my new friend. You told me I shouldn’t worry, because it was already spring and soon we’d be able to play outside when it got warmer.” He catches Ignis’ eye and he's smiling softly, full of fondness and warmth. “Remember?” 

Ignis does.

“Anyways, dad had it checked and… it turns out it was today. So, surprise?” his expression goes back to uncertain. “Happy advisorversary? I’m sorry, this seems silly.”

“Oh Noct,” He wants to get up, round the table and pull the other boy into his arms to show him how much this means. And then maybe pull away from the hug and bring their faces close to show Noct how much he himself means to him, his brain also supplies. He ignores it in favor of the guilt pooling in his chest. All of these years and he never thought to find out himself, never remembered. “I-“

“Maybe you should try it before responding. You might want to rescind your statement then.”

Ignis highly doubts that. Even though he can sense a slight smell of something burnt if he strains, the food in front of him gives off no signs of being the culprit. Yes, the presentation isn’t like that of his own meals or something out of his culinary magazines, but it’s put together well enough and Ignis is still overwhelmed by the gesture itself to consider more. 

“Noct,” he begins seriously, “I cannot tell you how much this means to me. However, I can’t help but feel like I also need to apologize. Such an important occasion seems like something I should know as your advisor. And yet, here I am fifteen years later, finding out about it from you.”

“Oh, Specs, no. All of this is nothing,” Noctis answers, eyes evading Ignis’ own now as he toys with his glass. “Can you count the times you’ve cooked for me, kept every place I’ve lived at from looking like a landfill, remembered things so I wouldn’t have to.” Ignis opens his mouth to respond, but Noctis holds out a hand. “This is all part of your duties, I know, but no. You’ve always gone above and beyond. Sitting with me after every nightmare, the Tenebraean pastries, King’s Knight, there are so many things that you did as Ignis - my friend and not as my advisor. So, I guess I’m trying to start repaying you for those.” Finally, he turns and when their eyes meet Ignis sees the spark that makes his heart jump. “Thanks, Iggy.”

“Oh, Noct.” And this time he doesn’t resist the urge, getting up and rounding the table to bring Noctis into a brief tight hug, not trusting himself to linger. “Thank you.”

When he sits back in his chair Noctis looks a bit dazed, but manages to half cover it with a cough. 

“Now finally try the food and tell me how much I screwed up.”

Ignis does. The fish is a bit overcooked, but is seasoned well enough and tastes good. The rice is actually really good, as is the salad. It’s a pretty simple and ordinary meal, but it is indeed one of Ignis’ favorites and Noctis has done a great job, considering his failed cooking attempts from high school. 

He tells Noctis as much.

“Ha! Well, I did make a few more attempts after that fiasco, you know,” he responds. “Also, Prompto helped with the salad.” His eyes go wide at Ignis’ responding laugh. “Only with it, though. What you see here is mostly me!”

“It’s wonderful, Noct. Thank you,” he answers, itching to reach out and take the other’s hand, his treacherous heart whispering how much this dinner feels like a romantic date.

They eat mostly in companionable silence, interrupted only by casual questions about the other’s day. Finally, when everything from their plates is gone, even the salad - no thanks to Noctis - he gets up and doesn’t allow Ignis to help him with the plates.

“Stay, Iggy. I still have to bring dessert.”

Indeed, he comes back a minute later with two bowls of ice cream topped with a few types of berries in a homemade sundae attempt.

“So, making dessert may have not turned out as well as dinner.” Ah, that’s what the faint burnt smell is from, probably, Ignis thinks. “These,” he holds out the bowls. “were a bit of last minute improvisation. Now let’s watch a movie.”

Ignis accepts his own bowl and reluctantly heads to the couch after Noctis, who, apparently knowing him well enough, produces a napkin and hands it to him. 

“Here, so you don’t worry you’ll get any on your nice pants.” 

They settle comfortably next to each other on the sofa and Noctis plays a movie. It's one of his preferred ones, all action and people shooting at each other. This one starts with an intense and, in Ignis’ opinion, very over-the-top car chase that would never work on actual city streets. Still, the soundtrack is not hard on the ears, so he tries to focus on that and eat his ice cream.

By the time the main character meets his love interest they have both finished their desserts. Noctis leans forward to place his empty bowl on the coffee table next to Ignis’ own and when he leans back they end up pressed to each other from shoulder to knee. It's not an unusual contact as Noctis does have a tendency to fall asleep during movies, often ending up on Ignis’ shoulder, but tonight the air between them feels different. Ignis is finding that pushing his untoward and absolutely inappropriate for his station feelings towards his Prince to the back of his mind is harder than usual and there's the persistent spark in Noctis’ eyes ever since he came to get him from his apartment that he keeps thinking about.

“What's her deal, didn't she see him walk in with all those criminals and pretend he doesn't know her? And then he left her hanging,” Noctis complains, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Oh, she's probably in love… or thinks she is, I guess,” he answers, even though he didn't pay much attention to the scene Noctis is describing. 

“Yes, but come on, Iggy. Why would you trust someone you met not so long ago so explicitly? If I pulled something like this you wouldn't forgive me.”

“Ah, but we've known each other for far longer and our circumstances are very different from a made up story that aims to be heavy on the romance.”

“The part with them planning to drive off together while listening to good music does sound nice, though. Even if their car has nothing on the Regalia, don't you think?”

The wistfulness in Noctis’ voice makes Ignis turn towards him only to find him already looking back. On the screen in front of them people are getting killed, but neither is paying attention. Ignis swallows once.

“And neither of them cooked for the other,” he finally responds and Noctis is already leaning in.

The kiss is soft and sweet, made even sweeter by the taste of vanilla and berries left over from their desserts. Ignis turns, placing a hand on Noctis' arm, unsure whether it's to calm his excitement, because the other man seems to get more impatient and demanding by the second, or an attempt to steady himself. They part only when the need for air becomes overbearing and end up leaning sideways on the couch, looking each other in the eyes, faces still close. 

“Was this second dessert,” Ignis asks, only years of schooling and practice allowing him to keep a straight face.

Noctis is unable to and ends up with his face buried in Ignis’ neck, shoulders shaking.

“Now that you mention it,” he answers with mirth in his voice.”Yes, let's pretend this was planned all along and what just happened was not something straight out of my dreams.”

Ignis can't resist tipping his face up with a finger under his chin and kissing him again. When they finally pull back this time Noctis seems unsure.

“So if I say I can also provide a second breakfast, will you be willing to stay and find out?”

Ignis feels his eyebrows raising, the voice at the back of his mind that he has been managing to tune out for the past short while coming back louder than ever to remind him how many rules he's breaking by just kissing the Prince. Before he has even managed to open his mouth Noctis interrupts. 

“No, nothing like that. Geez, Specs, I meant just sleeping… well, maybe with more kissing.”

The gears in his mind turning with possible solutions to this situation manage to tune out the voice yet again as Ignis leans in for another kiss.

The next morning Noctis has unprecedentedly woken up earlier and Ignis finds him in the kitchen making pancakes. Or trying to. His mixture looks good enough, but he has not mastered the art of flipping and with Ignis coming behind him, hands around his waist, he becomes too distracted to even try properly. Ignis nudges him away then, taking over only to have a taste of his own medicine when a warm body plasters against his back and kisses along his hairline make him forget to even pour the mixture for the next pancake in.

They end up with only two proper, unburned pancakes between the two of them, but it's okay, Ignis thinks. Noctis, it seems, has a lot more cooking in his future.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Comments and kudos are appreciated and you can drop by my tumblr @aro-hawke if you feel like it. ^^


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